I don’t care what colours your preferred political party are—Jack Layton was a great Canadian leader. He was, and continues to be, an inspirational force. Canadian pride is limitless. It forms lumps in even the most temperate of Canadian throats. Jack Layton knew this. He felt this.
In the days before his death, he penned a letter to his beloved compatriots, showing his grit for life and his passion for his country.
For those of us that live in the shadow of cancer daily, every death from a cancer recurrence is a direct attack against our own survival odds. Jack’s humble and selfless personalization and reflection to this fear in his letter moved me to tears. He has known my fear.
“Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue. To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.”
In his closing, Jack shared a truth. A truth that underlines the basis of his personal victories—and can no longer be considered political agenda hoopla.
“My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world. All my very best, Jack Layton”
Good night smilin’ Jack. Sweet dreams.
~uberscribbler
Stephanie Rosenbloom, of the New York Times writes, “One in every 4 1/2 minutes spent on the Web is spent on a social-networking site or blog. And last year the average visitor spent 66 percent more time on such sites than in 2009, when early adopters were already feeling digitally fatigued.
Do you want to know how it works? Below is the link to the awesomeness example of a brand (Magnum Ice Cream) who went with an influencer (blogger, Scott Stratten) for the Canadian launch of their product. Through a relationship built without expectations—the brand showed their awesome, allowing Scott’s excitement to leak from his fingertips to his hungry and unsuspecting audience. The subtleties of authentic promotion in social media are far more reaching then some questionable sponsored post—especially when coupled with the awesomeness of the relations of the brand. How do I know?
Once upon a time, professional networking happened after hours while sipping an aperitif or while swinging your golf clubs at a charity event. Putting together your professional image in the privacy of your personal space before shaking hands with prospects or clients will soon be a thing of the past. Image used to be everything. But now, with the explosion of Facebook, they’ve all seen you in a messy tube top holding both ends of a beer bong.
On paper, having a billboard dynamically updated via twitter seems like a good idea. In practice, you can accidentally make your news anchors look like rapists. #socialstrategyfail
There is something inherently cool about an independent bookstore. Just about every city has one, and they are an important cultural figure in their community offering valuable experience to their customers. Their mission is authentic.
UPDATE: After I posted this blog, my friend, Bo Pelech, emailed me with his favourite Indie bookstore. 
